Eri Matsuo

Do bonding and bridging social capital affect self-rated health, depressive mood and cognitive decline in older Japanese? A prospective cohort study.

Little is known regarding the longitudinal effects of bonding and bridging social capital on health. This study examined the longitudinal associations of bonding and bridging social capital with self-rated health, depressive mood, and cognitive decline in community-dwelling older Japanese. Data analyzed in this study were from the 2010 (baseline) and 2012 (follow-up) Hatoyama Cohort Study. Bonding social capital was assessed by individual perception of homogeneity of the neighborhood (the level of homogeneity among neighbors) and of networks (the amount of homogeneous personal networks) in relation to age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Bridging social capital was assessed by individual perception of heterogeneity of networks (the amount of heterogeneous personal networks) in relation to age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the effects of baseline social capital on poor health outcome at follow-up by logistic regression analysis. In total, 681 people completed baseline and follow-up surveys. The mean age of participants was 71.8 ± 5.1 years, and 57.9% were male. After adjusting for sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, comorbidity, functional capacity, baseline score of each outcome, and other bonding/bridging social capital, stronger perceived neighborhood homogeneity was inversely associated with poor self-rated health (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.30-1.00) and depressive mood assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.34-0.99). When participants who reported a depressive mood at baseline were excluded, stronger perceived heterogeneous network was inversely associated with depressive mood (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.19-0.87). Neither bonding nor bridging social capital was significantly associated with cognitive decline assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination. In conclusion, bonding and bridging social capital affect health in different ways, but they both have beneficial effects on the health of older Japanese. Our findings suggest that intervention focusing on bonding and bridging social capital may improve various health outcomes in old age.

Are neighborhood bonding and bridging social capital protective against depressive mood in old age? A multilevel analysis in Japan

While the importance of distinguishing between bonding and bridging social capital is now understood, evidence remains sparse on their contextual effects on health. We examined the associations of neighborhood bonding and bridging social capital with depressive mood among older Japanese. A questionnaire survey of all community residents aged 65 and older in the city of Yabu, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan was conducted in July and August 2012. Bonding and bridging social capital were assessed by evaluating individual homogeneous and heterogeneous social networks in relation to age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Individual responses in each neighborhood were aggregated to create an index of neighborhood-level bonding/bridging social capital. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the associations of such social capital with depressive mood using multilevel binomial logistic regression analysis. Of the 7271 questionnaires distributed, 6416 were analyzed (covering 152 administrative neighborhoods). Approximately 56.8% of respondents were women, and the mean age was 76.2 ± 7.1 years. Neighborhood-level bonding social capital was inversely associated with depressive mood (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.75-0.94), but neighborhood-level bridging social capital was not. Gender-stratified analysis revealed that neighborhood-level bonding social capital was inversely associated with depressive mood in both genders (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.72-0.96 for men; OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.72-0.99 for women), while neighborhood-level bridging social capital was positively associated with depressive mood in women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.00-1.34). There was also a significant interaction between individual- and neighborhood-level bonding social capital, indicating that people with a weaker homogeneous network and living in a neighborhood with weaker bonding social capital were more likely to have depressive mood. Our results suggest that neighborhood social capital does not necessarily benefit mental health in old age. These findings might stimulate further discussion on the relationship of bonding and bridging social capital with mental health.

Association of dietary variety with body composition and physical function in community-dwelling elderly Japanese

ObjectivesTo examine the associations of dietary variety with body composition and physical function in community-dwelling elderly JapaneseDesignCross-sectional study.SettingCommunity-based.ParticipantsA total of 1184 community-dwelling elderly adults aged 65 and over.MeasurementsDietary variety was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire (maximum, 10 points) that encompassed the 10 main food components of Japanese meals (meat, fish/shellfish, eggs, milk, soybean products, green/yellow vegetables, potatoes, fruit, seaweed, and fats/oils). Body composition was determined by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. Physical function was assessed by measuring grip strength and usual walking speed. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations of dietary variety with body composition and physical function.ResultsAfter adjusting for potential confounders, higher dietary variety scores were independently associated with higher lean mass (β (SE): 0.176 (0.049), p<0.001) and appendicular lean mass (β (SE): 0.114 (0.027), p<0.001) but not with body fat mass. Elders with a higher dietary variety score had greater grip strength and faster usual walking speed (β (SE): 0.204 (0.071), p=0.004, and β (SE): 0.008 (0.003), p=0.012, respectively).ConclusionGreater dietary variety was significantly associated with greater lean mass and better physical function in Japanese elders. The causal relationship warrants investigation in a prospective study.

Dietary variety and decline in lean mass and physical performance in community-dwelling older Japanese: A 4-year follow-up study

ObjectivesTo examine associations of dietary variety with changes in lean mass and physical performance during a 4-year period in an elderly Japanese population. Design: Four-year prospective study.SettingThe Hatoyama Cohort Study and Kusatsu Longitudinal Study, Japan.Participants935 community-dwelling Japanese aged 65 years or older.MeasurementsDietary variety was assessed using a 10-item food frequency questionnaire. Body composition was determined by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis, and physical performance (grip strength and usual gait speed) was measured in surveys at baseline and 4 years later. Longitudinal analysis included only participants who were originally in the upper three quartiles of lean body mass, appendicular lean mass, grip strength, and usual gait speed. The outcome measures were decline in lean body mass, appendicular lean mass, grip strength, and usual gait speed, defined as a decrease to the lowest baseline quartile level at the 4-year follow-up survey. Associations of dietary variety with the outcome measures were examined by logistic regression analysis adjusted for potential confounders.ResultsIn the fully adjusted model, the odds ratios for decline in grip strength and usual gait speed were 0.43 (95% confidence interval, 0.19–0.99) and 0.43 (confidence interval, 0.19–0.99), respectively, for participants in the highest category of dietary variety score as compared with those in the lowest category. Dietary variety was not significantly associated with changes in lean body mass or appendicular lean mass.ConclusionAmong older adults, greater dietary variety may help maintain physical performance, such as grip strength and usual gait speed, but not lean mass.

地域在住高齢者における身体機能・骨格筋量・サルコペニアと認知機能との横断的・縦断的な関連性

AIM This study had two objectives: to confirm the cross-sectional associations between the physical performance scale (PPS), skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and sarcopenia and cognition, and to examine whether PPS, SMM and sarcopenia are independent risk markers of cognitive decline (CD). METHODS Among 805 adults 65 years of age or older who participated in a baseline survey (2008-2011), 649 were reevaluated for their level of cognition at least once until 2012, and PPS, SMM, sarcopenia and cognition were assessed. CD was defined as a decrease of at least 0.5 points per year on the MMSE. RESULTS After controlling for sex, age and years of education, PPS, SMM and sarcopenia were associated with cognition, respectively. During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, 201 adults (31.0%) had CD. After controlling for important confounders, PPS showed a significant association with CD [OR=0.75 (95%CI: 0.65-0.87)], whereas SMM showed no significant association with CD. As compared with the people who had normal PPS and SMM, people who had low PPS and normal SMM had 2.10 times higher risk for CD. CONCLUSIONS We confirmed the cross-sectional associations between physical performance, SMM and sarcopenia and cognition in a general population of older adults. Although people had normal SMM, low physical performance was found to be a risk marker for subsequent CD.